Boehner unhappy at Dems for lack of cuts

Friday

Nov 30, 2012 at 12:01 AMNov 30, 2012 at 11:38 AM

WASHINGTON - A pessimistic-sounding John Boehner complained yesterday that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have refused to offer deep spending cuts as part of a major budget agreement.

WASHINGTON - A pessimistic-sounding John Boehner complained yesterday that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have refused to offer deep spending cuts as part of a major budget agreement.

Emerging from a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the House speaker said he was "disappointed in what's happened in the last couple of weeks" as the White House and congressional Republicans have worked on a plan to avoid the combination of tax increases and spending cuts - the "fiscal cliff" - that would take effect at year's end.

GOP aides who requested anonymity said Geithner presented an offer yesterday calling for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue - largely from tax increases on the wealthy - over the coming decade, extending the 2 percentage-point payroll-tax deduction or something comparable to it and spending $50 billion in stimulus on infrastructure projects.

The only spending cuts in the plan would come from administration proposals curbing health-care programs by $400 billion over the coming decade and modest cuts from non-health programs such as farm subsidies; cuts in Postal Service spending, and through higher fees on airline tickets. The plan also would boost spending by extending unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, deferring looming cuts to Medicare payments to physicians and helping homeowners refinance "underwater" mortgages.

The aides said Geithner also requested the equivalent of a permanent extension of the government's borrowing ability to avoid wrangling over the issue - as in last year's summertime crisis over raising the debt ceiling.

A senior Democratic aide confirmed that the GOP description of the Geithner proposal is consistent with the latest position.

Boehner showed his frustration after the meeting.

"Going over the fiscal cliff is serious business," said Boehner, R-West Chester. "I'm here seriously trying to resolve it. ... I'm going to do everything I can to avoid putting the American economy, the American people, through the fiasco of going over the fiscal cliff."

As Boehner spoke, stocks on Wall Street plummeted, a sign that investors fear the U.S. economy could plunge into recession next year if more than $500 billion in new taxes and automatic spending cuts go into effect.

The White House plan calls for $960 billion over the coming decade by increasing tax rates and taxes on investment income on upper-bracket earners and $600 billion in additional taxes. Republicans view the offer as a step backward.

The 2001 and 2003 cuts in investment and income taxes on all Americans expire at the end of this year. Obama wants to allow those tax cuts to expire on families earning more than $250,000 a year while Republicans have wanted to extend the tax cuts for all income groups.

The White House's proposed cuts are not deep enough to satisfy congressional Republicans, and deep divisions remain on taxes. Since Obama's re-election, Boehner has said more tax revenue is on the table but only if there are "serious spending cuts" as part of the agreement between Democrats and Republicans.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that Republicans "have yet to accept the essential fact that, in order to achieve the kinds of revenue that are necessary for a balanced proposal, balanced plan, rates on the top 2 percent … are going up.They have to go up.The president will not sign any legislation that extends the Bush-era tax cuts for top earners in this country."

Neither political party has budged from its starting position. Top Republicans also have refused Obama's call to pass a bill that would prevent a tax hike on 98 percent of households while talks continue.

The Democrats have been reluctant to cut spending on federal programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

In a letter last week to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Sen. Sherrod Brown and 13 other Senate Democrats urged Reid to reject any changes to those programs that would "cut benefits, shift costs to states, alter the structure of these critical programs, or force vulnerable populations to bear the burden of deficit reduction efforts."

But with the federal government running annual deficits of more than $1 trillion, it is difficult to produce a plan to eventually balance the budget without restraining the growth of Social Security; Medicare, which provides health care for the elderly; and Medicaid, which covers health care for low-income people.

In a shot at Obama, Boehner said "this is a moment for adult leadership," and that "campaign-style rallies and one-sided leaks are not a way to get things done here in Washington."

Boehner was referring to Obama's planned trip to Pennsylvania today to rally support for his plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest of Americans.

"So right now, all eyes are on the White House," Boehner said."The country doesn't need a victory lap. It needs leadership."

Information from the Associated Press and McClatchy Newspapers was included in this story.

Ellen.jervell@gmail.com

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